Filmmaker Richard Linklater's 12-year labour of love, Boyhood, has been given another big Oscars boost after picking up the Best Picture Award at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Monday (05Jan15). Best Director award winner Linklater attended the prizegiving with the film's stars Ellar Coltrane and Patricia Arquette, who picked up the Best Supporting Actress honour for her role as a single mum looking for love in the movie, which took 12 years to make.
Other winners included Laura Poitras, the director of the Best Documentary prize for Citizenfour, Marion Cotillard (Best Actress for The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night), The Babadook director Jennifer Kent (Best First Film), J.K. Simmons (Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash), Wes Anderson (Best Screenplay for The Grand Budapest Hotel), Ida (Best Foreign Film), and Timothy Spall (Best Actor for Mr. Turner).

New Line Cinema via Everett Collection
Last year alone, films like Blue Jasmine, 12 Years a Slave and Philomena were driven by the brilliant transformations of actresses like Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong'o, and Judi Dench. And as we celebrate Women's History Month (looking forward to more exciting performances from these and other great actresses), let's take a look back at just a few of the many, many life changing performances in some of the best biopics and period pieces from recent years.
Q'orianka Kilcher, The New World
You thought you knew the story of Pocahontas until director Terrence Malick introduced us to a whole new world. Kilcher's performance was so awe-inspring it practically re-told and re-wrote history itself.
Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, Ginnifer Goodwin, Julia Roberts, Mona Lisa Smile
Yes. Pretty much every actress you love is in this movie. Set in the 1950s, this amazing film tells the story of a group of Wellesley students who get their lives shaken up when Julia Roberts shows up as their free-thinking art professor.
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
When Cotillard won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her role as beloved French singer Edith Piaf, nobody in the world cried foul. Because there aren't enough awards in the world for what she did in La Vie en Rose. A stunning, haunting, fitting tribute from one French star to another.
Viola Davis &amp; Octavia Spencer, The Help
Spencer took home the Academy Award in 2012 for her portrayal of Minny Jackson, a black maid working for a particularly cruel white woman in the '60s, and costar Davis was nominated. As far as the clip above, one YouTuber describes it as "The most satisfying scene in cinematic history." We're inclined to agree.
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn? Damn near flawless.
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
But Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth? EVERYTHING!
Angela Bassett, What's Love Got to Do with It
No offense to Tina Turner, but Angela Bassett was the best Tina Turner of all time.
Laura Linney, Kinsey
It may have been Liam Neeson's flick, but Linney played the wife of the famed scientist and, for many of us, absolutely stole the show.
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
If you've somehow managed to go through life not being in love with Michelle Williams, then you clearly have not seen My Week with Marilyn. Do yourself a favor and make it happen. NOW!
Jennifer Lopez, Selena
If you can make it through J Lo's performance of Selena Quintanilla's life and work without crying, you are a martian robot lacking the full understanding of Selena Quintanilla.
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Granted there are other Kate Winslet movies to choose from. But when you really get down to it... no. No, there aren't.
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Actresses Reese Witherspoon, Naomie Harris, Marion Cotillard and Melissa Mccarthy were among the stars honoured at Elle magazine's Women in Hollywood Awards on Monday (21Oct13). The publication's bosses paid tribute to the female celebrities as part of their 20th annual ceremony at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
The honourees were each introduced by a celebrity pal, who shared recollections of how the star helped them get ahead in their own careers. Among the guest presenters were comedienne and talk show host Chelsea Handler, who feted her pal Witherspoon, and Kathy Bates, who celebrated McCarthy's onscreen achievements.
Audience members included Glee star Lea Michele, Emmy Rossum, Cybill Shepherd, Laura Dern, Emilia Clarke, Shailene Woodley and funnywoman Whitney Cummings.

A decade-long gap between sequels could leave a franchise stale but in the case of Men in Black 3 it's the launch pad for an unexpectedly great blockbuster. The kooky antics of Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) don't stray far from their 1997 and 2002 adventures but without a bombardment of follow-ups to keep the series in mind the wonderfully weird sensibilities of Men in Black feel fresh Smith's natural charisma once again on full display. Barry Sonnenfeld returns for the threequel another space alien romp with a time travel twist — which turns out to be Pandora's Box for the director's deranged imagination.
As time passed in the real world so did it for the timeline in the world of Men in Black. Picking up ten years after MIB 2 J and K are continuing to protect the Earth from alien threats and enforce the law on those who live incognito. While dealing with their own personal issues — K is at his all-time crabbiest for seemingly no reason — the suited duo encounter an old enemy Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) a prickly assassin seeking revenge on K who blew his arm off back in the '60s. Their street fight is more of a warning; Boris' real plan is to head back in time to save his arm and kill off K. He's successful prompting J to take his own leap through the time-space continuum — and team up with a younger K (Josh Brolin) to put an end to Boris plans for world domination.
Men in Black 3 is the Will Smith show. Splitting his time between the brick personalities of Jones and Brolin's K Smith struts his stuff with all the fast-talking comedic style that made him a star in yesteryears. In present day he's still the laid back normal guy in a world of oddities — J raises an eyebrow as new head honcho O (Emma Thompson) delivers a eulogy in a screeching alien tongue but coming up with real world explanations for flying saucer crashes comes a little easier. But back in 1969 he's an even bigger fish out water. Surprisingly director Barry Sonnenfeld and writer Etan Cohen dabble in the inherent issues that would spring up if a black gentlemen decked out in a slick suit paraded around New York in the late '60s. A star of Smith's caliber may stray away from that type of racy humor but the hook of Men in Black 3 is the actor's readiness for anything. He turns J's jokey anachronisms into genuine laughs and doesn't mind letting the special effect artists stretch him into an unrecognizable Twizzler for the movie's epic time jump sequence.
Unlike other summer blockbusters Men in Black 3 is light on the action Sonnenfeld utilizing his effects budget and dazzling creature work (by the legendary Rick Baker) to push the comedy forward. J's fight with an oversized extraterrestrial fish won't keep you on the edge of your seat but his slapstick escape and the marine animal's eventual demise are genuinely amusing. Sonnenfeld carries over the twisted sensibilities he displayed in small screen work like Pushing Daisies favoring bizarre banter and elaborating on the kookiness of the alien underworld than battle scenes. MIB3's chase scene is passable but the movie in its prime when Smith is sparring with Brolin and newcomer Michael Stuhlbarg who steals the show as a being capable of seeing the future. His twitchy character keeps Smith and the audience on their toes.
Men in Black 3 digs up nostalgia I wasn't aware I had. Smith's the golden boy of summer and even with modern ingenuity keeping it fresh — Sonnenfeld uses the mandatory 3D to full and fun effect — there's an element to the film that feels plucked from another era. The movie is economical and slight with plenty of lapses in logic that will provoke head scratching on the walk out of the theater but it's also perfectly executed. After ten years of cinematic neutralizing the folks behind Men in Black haven't forgotten what made the first movie work so well. After al these years Smith continues to make the goofy plot wild spectacle and crazed alien antics look good.
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Theatrics slapstick and cheer are cinematic qualities you rarely find outside the realm of animation. Disney perfected it with their pantheon of cartoon classics mixing music humor spectacle and light-hearted drama that swept up children while still capturing the imaginations and hearts of their parents. But these days even reinterpretations of fairy tales get the gritty make-over leaving little room for silliness and unfiltered glee. Emerging through that dark cloud is Mirror Mirror a film that achieves every bit of imagination crafted by its two-dimensional predecessors and then some. Under the eye of master visualist Tarsem Singh (The Fall Immortals) Mirror Mirror's heightened realism imbues it with the power to pull off anything — and the movie never skimps on the anything.
Like its animated counterparts Mirror Mirror stays faithful to its source material but twists it just enough to feel unique. When Snow White (Lily Collins) was a little girl her father the King ventured into a nearby dark forest to do battle with an evil creature and was never seen or heard from again. The kingdom was inherited by The Queen (Julia Roberts) Snow's evil stepmother and the fair-skinned beauty lived locked up in the castle until her 18th birthday. Grown up and tired of her wicked parental substitute White sneaks out of the castle to the village for the first time. There she witnesses the economic horrors The Queen has imposed upon the people of her land all to fuel her expensive beautification. Along the way Snow also meets Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer) who is suffering from his own money troubles — mainly being robbed by a band of stilt-wearing dwarves. When the Queen catches wind of the secret excursion she casts Snow out of the castle to be murdered by her assistant Brighton (Nathan Lane).
Fairy tales take flack for rejecting the idea of women being capable but even with its flighty presentation and dedication to the old school Disney method Mirror Mirror empowers its Snow White in a genuine way thanks to Collins' snappy charming performance. After being set free by Brighton Snow crosses paths with the thieving dwarves and quickly takes a role on their pilfering team (which she helps turn in to a Robin Hooding business). Tarsem wisely mines a spectrum of personalities out of the seven dwarves instead of simply playing them for one note comedy. Sure there's plenty of slapstick and pun humor (purposefully and wonderfully corny) but each member of the septet stands out as a warm compassionate companion to Snow even in the fantasy world.
Mirror Mirror is richly designed and executed in true Tarsem-fashion with breathtaking costumes (everything from ball gowns to the dwarf expando-stilts to ridiculous pirate ship hats with working canons) whimsical sets and a pitch-perfect score by Disney-mainstay Alan Menken. The world is a storybook and even its monsters look like illustrations rather than photo-real creations. But what makes it all click is the actors. Collins holds her own against the legendary Julia Roberts who relishes in the fun she's having playing someone despicable. She delivers every word with playful bite and her rapport with Lane is off-the-wall fun. Armie Hammer riffs on his own Prince Charming physique as Alcott. The only real misgiving of the film is the undercooked relationship between him and Snow. We know they'll get together but the journey's half the fun and Mirror Mirror serves that portion undercooked.
Children will swoon for Mirror Mirror but there's plenty here for adults — dialogue peppered with sharp wisecracks and a visual style ripped from an elegant tapestry. The movie wears its heart on its sleeve and rarely do we get a picture where both the heart and the sleeve feel truly magical.
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The Tourist is about as difficult to get through as spotting the vowels in the name of its director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark was last seen receiving a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2007 for The Lives of Others which was about a couple living in East Berlin who were being monitored by the police of the German Democratic Republic. Its positive reception made way for the assumption that Donnersmark would continue to populate the USA with films of seemingly otherworldly and underrepresented themes. But his current project is saddening in its superficiality and total implausibility.
The film’s only real upside is its stars: two of our most prized Americans. Johnny Depp plays Frank Tupelo a math teacher from Wisconsin who travels to Europe after his wife leaves him presumably because of his weakness and simplicity. While en route to Venice he meets Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) who situates herself in his company after she receives a letter from her criminal lover Alexander Pearce (who stole some billions from a very wealthy Russian and the British government) with instructions to find someone on a train who looks like him and make the police believe that he is the real Alexander Pearce to throw the authorities and the Russians off his track. Elise picks Frank and after they are photographed kissing each other on the balcony of Elise’s hotel everyone begins to believe Frank is the real Pearce and so begins the chase.
While Donnersmark could not have picked two better looking people to film roaming around Venice his lack of faith in the audience is obvious. Every aspect of the characters is hammed up again and again as if Donnersmark felt burdened with the task of making us see his vision. Doubtful that we’re capable of getting to where he wants us he has crafted a movie completely devoid of subtlety. Elise’s strength and superiority over Frank are portrayed by close-ups and repeated instances of men burping up their lungs upon seeing her (as if her beauty is in any way subjective?). And in case we forgot that Frank is the victim in this story -- even though he’s been tricked chased and shot at - Donnersmark still felt the need to pin him with a lame electronic cigarette to puff on. Frank and Elise somehow manage to lack mystery even though we get very few factual details about each of them.
Nothing extraordinary comes to us in the way of the film’s structural elements either. There is very little of the action that The Tourist’s marketing led us to believe and the dialog is often painful. The plot itself is almost shockingly unbelievable especially when we’re asked to believe that Elise falls in love with Frank after a combination of kissing him once and her disclosed habit of swooning over men she only spent an hour with (yes that was on her CV).
The Tourist is rather empty and cosmetic. It’s worth seeing if you’re a superfan of Jolie or Depp but don’t expect to walk out of the theater with anything more than the stub you came in with.

Johnny Depp's Neverland named top film by NBR
The Johnny Depp-led biopic Finding Neverland, a whimsical retelling of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie's life, was named the best film of year by the National Board of Review. NBR prexy Annie Schulhof described the film as visually magical. "All the elements hit the page for a best NBR film--the acting, the costumes, the set design, the music, and especially the cinematography," she told The Associated Press. Jamie Foxx, meanwhile, took the best actor honor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray and Annette Bening was named best actress for her role as an aging British stage star in Being Julia. Laura Linney, who plays the wife of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey, won the supporting-actress category while the cast of Closer--Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman--received an accolade for best acting by an ensemble. In other categories, the Disney and Pixar juggernaut The Incredibles, about a family of super heroes, conquered the best animated feature category, the Spanish film The Sea Inside won top foreign language film and Born Into Brothels took best documentary. Michael Mann won the best director award for his Tom Cruise starrer Collateral and scribe Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carrey as a man who wants to erase memories of a failed romance, won for best original screenplay.
Gothams hail Sideways
Director Alexander Payne's comedy Sideways was named best feature of the year Wednesday at the IFP/New York's 14th annual Gotham Awards in New York. Helmer Jonathan Demme's The Agronomist, about Haitian human rights activist Jean Dominique, took best documentary. The breakthrough actor award went to Catalina Sandino, for her role in Maria Full of Grace, while that film's director, Joshua Marston, was awarded the breakthrough director award. The Gothams aired live for the first time on cable network IFC.
Brokaw bids adieu to viewers
After almost 23 years as NBC Nightly News anchor, Tom Brokaw ended Wednesday night's broadcast with a touching farewell. "Thanks for all that I have learned from you," he said, expressing gratitude to his viewers. "That's been my richest reward." Brokaw is leaving Nightly News and daily journalism to pursue other interests, but will still contribute to NBC News, doing at least three documentaries a year, the AP reports. A South Dakota native who joined NBC in 1966, Brokaw was White House correspondent from 1973 to 1976 and anchored Today from 1976 to 1981. He began his Nightly News stint in April 1982, sharing the anchor title with Roger Mudd, and emerged as solo anchor in September 1983.
Nick and Jessica perplexed by rumor mill
During an appearance on ABC News' Good Morning America, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey denied tabloid rumors their marriage is on the rocks. "We really are trying to think of where this whole firestorm of gossip came from," Lachey said. "We haven't been able to find really one instance or one public spat." Simpson scoffed at stories she didn't wear her wedding ring to a recent public event because of the couple's alleged marital troubles. "It was a fashion decision," Simpson said, explaining her yellow gold bracelets didn't match her large platinum and diamond wedding rings. "I'm kind of finicky about gold jewelry ... about matching it with silver. Now I don't look at it as that. It's just always going to stay on my finger. It's never coming off."
Knight maybe involved in Vibe melee
Authorities are investigating whether rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight played a role in the altercation at the Vibe Awards last month, in which rapper Dr. Dre was attacked. Knight, who had a falling out with Dre over their label Death Row Records in the mid-'90s, has denied any involvement in the incident in which a man, Jimmy "James" Johnson, punched Dre in the face. The assault sparked a brawl in which Johnson was stabbed and seriously injured by Dre protégé, rapper Young Buck. Unidentified sources told theLos Angeles Times police have been interviewing witnesses and reviewing video footage to examine Knight's actions before, during and after the melee. Knight was released from prison in 2001 after serving time for assault and weapons violations and the conditions for his parole ban him from having any contact with Dre. The AP reports Knight apparently came to the Vibe Awards without an invitation and sat just a few feet behind Dre.
Joan, Raymond top Family Awards
CBS' Joan of Arcadia and Everybody Loves Raymond were among the winners at the sixth annual Family Television Awards, presented Wednesday in Los Angeles, Reuters reports. Joan and Raymond won in the drama and comedy categories, respectively, while Joan star Amber Tamblyn and Raymond's Doris Roberts tied for actress honors, while Bernie Mac, star of the Fox comedy The Bernie Mac Show, won in the actor category. ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition won best reality program, while the network's Lost took the best new series prize. The awards, organized by the Family Friendly Programming Forum, honor "outstanding work in family-friendly television entertainment."
Actor Orbach diagnosed with prostate cancer
Law &amp; Order star Jerry Orbach has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the AP reports. "We expect he'll be fine. He's been playing golf, shooting his episodes and doing real well," manager Robert Malcolm told the New York Daily News. Producer Dick Wolf told the News Orbach's illness will not disrupt production of the NBC show. "We expect him to make a full and swift recovery, and while he is receiving treatment, we will work around his schedule," Wolf said.
Inflatable SpongeBobs stolen!
Be on the look out for a thief carrying around 9-foot-wide SpongeBob SquarePants inflatables. More than 50 SpongeBob-nappings have been reported from Florida to Utah since the Nickelodeon pop icon started appearing on the roofs of Burger King restaurants in a promotional tie-in with the hit movie, AP reports. "We don't have any theories. SpongeBob SquarePants is kind of a fad. It could be a childhood prank or an adult trying to get a fad item for Christmas," Florida's Putnam County sheriff's Lt. Steve Rose told the AP Wednesday. "If any leads come across, we will follow up in hopes of making an arrest."
Kit Bowen contributed to this report.